Ive done a fair amount of research and have wittled it down to these 2 bodies.

Im not sure which one would be best. things i have read on here say ACA - (which means i would probably do AAT access course then go on to ACA) but friends say only good things about CIMA (which means i would do CIMA business accounting access course then go on to CIMA professional qualification)

Im currently in an unrelated job and will be studying by distance learning. I got good a - levels but also unrelated.

I was 99% CIMA but then i read some things that say 100% ACA.

Could someone just let me know the ins and outs. what exactly can u do with each qualification?? Job titles etc.

ACA focuses on a broad range of business skills but is biased towards financial accounting, tax and audit - it is generally undertaken in a firm of accountants but sometimes in industry too

CIMA focueses on management accounting such as budgeting, variance analysis and more general management topics - you cannot be a registered auditor with CIMA, it is generally done in a firms finance dept rather than an accounting firm

ACCA is sort of in between

CIPFA is for public finance work

ACA is offered by a lot of big accounting firms, CIMA by a lot of big industry firms

eg an accountancy firm or a big FTSE 100 that will put you on a CIMA course,

I'm neither of the above and I sort of teach myself (I do ACCA) and its very hard out there !!

at the end of the day your judged on your experience the qualifications are all pretty similar, but if you dont have the experience they tend to give big4 qualified accountants alot of a chance in different roles eg investment banking, financial analyst etc